The loan would be over the course of five years and serve as a safety net for the school, which has seen financial strain in recent years.

The Ken-Caryl school’s principal, Chris Becker, and chairman of the board Scott Close made the request to the board on Dec. 12. They were asked to meet with a consultant and make another presentation at the January board meeting.

The school asked for and received a $150,000 loan in December 2012, but Becker and Close said that loan wasn’t used and the $450,000 includes the $150,000 they already have at their disposal.

“The idea is we would prefer not to go to the school board every year,” Becker said. “We don’t need that amount this year, we want to be safe. We’re in it for the long haul.”

Becker added that they didn’t use the $150,000 last year because they were able to successfully cut $300,000 from their budget.

This loan would serve as a safety net and Becker said the the school would likely dip into only a small amount of it this year.

One problem is the enrollment at the school, which dipped to 371.5 full-time equivalent students. The school estimated 450 students for the 2013-14 school year and was overfunded for the first part of the year. Last year, the school had 487 students.

The board did approve an additional $50,000 to the school’s current loan to get them through the next quarter.

School board president Ken Witt expressed a deep appreciation for what the school has been through, but he had his concerns.

“We are big supporters of choice, big supporters of good education in all of its forms” Witt said at the meeting. “I, too, have significant concerns about the financial viability, or at least the justification for financial viability in this case.”

Becker said there are already 45 students who have submitted choice enrollment for next year.

Joe Vaccarelli covers Denver and Lakewood for the YourHub section of The Denver Post. Prior to coming aboard in 2011, he worked with Mile High Newspapers. Vaccarelli also teaches percussion at schools in Golden and Littleton and performs with the Denver Broncos Stampede and Denver Nuggets Skyline drumlines.

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